On the Mend

I have a painting with a music box attached to it. The painting has moved around with me many times over the years. Noticing the music box collecting dust, I recently played it and was inspired to make a sample-based instrument from it. 

The painting and music box represent a complex sense of home for me. It has hung on the walls in both broken and loving homes that I have lived in and has become a symbol of how important having a peaceful place to call home really is. 

The music box is one of the main instruments on a new album I'm working on. On The Mend is the first single from it.

The rest of the sounds and instruments on the album come from field recordings and my homemade sample-based instruments. I made the field recordings after a giant snow storm that occurred in March of 2019. All of the percussive sounds were derived from snow covered sources: icicles snapping, snow balls hitting a metal door, dry crisp snow falling off of fern leaves, or fresh snow crunching under foot. The air was freezing and everything was covered in snow creating a kind of presence I have not been able to achieve at any other time of the year. The rest of the sample-based instruments were made from different harmonic sound sources that I like to play with: singing bowls, wind chimes, and guitar harmonics. The same set of sounds and instruments are going to be used on all of the songs on this album.

Enjoy.

Release Notes:

Releases June 7, 2019 but you can listen to it here in the meantime ;-)
Mastered by Taylor Deupree at 12k. 
I would love to credit the artist that made the music box painting but she did not sign it and I do not know her name. If anyone has information about her please contact me so I can credit her work.